Since 1992 the European Union has put liberalization at the core of its energy policy agenda. The central challenge for the EU is that the energy world has changed, while the EU has not. The rise of Asian energy consumers (China, India), more assertive energy producers (Russia) and the threat of climate change have securitized the IPE of energy, and turned it more "realist." The main question the event addresses is therefore: What does a liberal actor do in a realist world?

The event represents the launch of Andreas Goldthau and Nick Sitter (2015), A Liberal Actor in a Realist World: The EU Regulatory State and the Global Political Economy of Energy, Oxford University Press.